Saturday, October 20, 2007
Ralston's move highlights lack of U.S. midfielders
Frank Dell'Apa, Special to ESPNsoccernet
From when he was a youngster, Steve Ralston played in the center of the field. Ralston was his team's point of reference, he set up the attack, created chances for others and went to goal himself. Then, when the MLS started in 1996, Ralston was sent to the right wing. Coach Thomas Rongen built the Tampa Bay Mutiny around Carlos Valderrama, so Ralston either had to be content with the bench or give it a shot outside.
Steve Ralston has been used in the centre of the field lately by the Revs. (Winslow Townson/AP)
The experiment worked well from the start, Ralston becoming one of the best right wings in the league's history, along with setting an MLS record for games played. But last month, Ralston, 33, moved back to his old central midfield position. At first, the move was out of necessity. The New England Revolution's Shalrie Joseph was suspended for the U.S. Open Cup final, so Ralston slotted into the playmaking spot. Revolution coach Steve Nicol liked what he saw and Ralston remained there for the next two games. Nicol is apparently convinced Ralston is right for the position. And Nicol's tactical hunches are usually right.
But this has raised the question about Ralston's having converted to the right wing in the first place. Ralston made a career as a winger, also performing there on the international stage. But what if Ralston had never had to change, instead continuing in the midfield role?
In the early years of the MLS, there was little chance of finding the answer to that question. Then, skill had to be imported and there was a great demand for playmakers such as Mauricio Cienfuegos, Marco Etcheverry, Preki, Valderrama. Claudio Reyna was among the few U.S.-born playmakers an MLS team could have been built around at the time.
Has the situation changed? The Ralston example suggests not.
Technical playmakers are emerging in the U.S. but teams are simply not being built around U.S.-born midfielders.
Part of the problem relates to placing players in the right position. The U.S. system often miscasts young players by overemphasizing size, speed and strength. Few coaches are able to accurately project players' traits, so are unable to channel them into the position in which they will excel in the future.
Countries with sophisticated soccer systems cast their young players in the right role early on.
When Cobi Jones went to Vasco da Gama, the Brazilians saw him as a right back. The U.S. U-17 team made a similar move with Sheanon Williams, who had been the team's leading scorer as a forward. Williams was not enthusiastic about the change at first, but switching to right back could go far in solidifying his future as a professional. Had Jones and Williams grown up in Rio de Janeiro, they might have aspired to become laterales, a revered role in Brazil. Carlos Alberto set the modern standard for wing backs in the 1970s, continuing into the '90s with Jorginho, then Cafu and now Daniel Alves and Cicinho.
Finding performers with the composure, skill and vision to command the midfield is more complicated. Valderrama spawned several potential successors in Colombia (John Wilmar Perez, Frankie Oviedo, Giovanni "El Principe" Hernandez) who fell short of his fame but did become driving forces for the national team and with their clubs.
In the U.S., many more holding midfielders are emerging than creative midfielders. And MLS teams are importing even more holding types -- Pablo Richetti and Juan Toja in Dallas, for example. This is partly a manifestation of the unsubtle style of play in the MLS. The U.S. has not been produced an obvious successor to Reyna, probably the only U.S. player in modern times qualified to command the playmaking position at top levels. And MLS teams are going to continue to look to Latin America for the next Christian Gomez. Frank Dell'Apa is a soccer columnist for The Boston Globe and ESPN.
